2002 hottest start than any in past millennium: New Scientist

This year, planet Earth has had its warmest first quarter since record-keeping began 140 years ago. Preliminary analysis suggests it may be the hottest start any year in the past millennium has seen, according to New Scientist.

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india today digital

May 20, 2002

ISSUE DATE: May 20, 2002

UPDATED: August 8, 2012 13:16 IST

TO NEMESIS: The heat is on

This year, planet Earth has had its warmest first quarter since record-keeping began 140 years ago. Preliminary analysis suggests it may be the hottest start any year in the past millennium has seen, according to New Scientist.

The study conducted by scientists in the UK also predicts a further rise in average temperatures in coming years. Winters are expected to get wetter and summers dryer. If current trends continue, most places will get hotter by as much as three degrees Celsius in the next century.

Global warming due to the "greenhouse ef fect" is believed to be the cause for this. However an Indian remote sensing satellite has reported an increase in the Antarctic ice cover. This may mean the expected meltdown of polar ice caps is not quite imminent.

The heat is not unexpected. The Antarctic ice cover had found the winter of 2001 to be the warmest on record and predicted a warm start to 2002.

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